Ethiopia Gets Two Russian Su-35 Fighters Early, With 10 More Planned

Russia has delivered Ethiopia’s first two Su-35 fighters a year ahead of schedule, opening a planned acquisition of 12 aircraft. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also said the country is due to receive four Russian S-400 air-defense batteries, although that transfer has not yet occurred.

Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-owned arms exporter, confirmed that two aircraft were delivered to the Ethiopian Air Force. Abiy credited Russian President Vladimir Putin with helping move the initial delivery forward and described the wider acquisition as an effort to strengthen national security and “pre-emptively deter aggression.” The agreement’s value, delivery schedule for the remaining 10 fighters and intended bases have not been disclosed.

The early handover is significant because it moves the program from an announced procurement to physical aircraft in Ethiopian custody. It also shows that Moscow remains capable of delivering major combat-aircraft exports to an African customer. The eventual force, however, is still mostly an order rather than a completed fleet.

Delivery is only the first stage

The Su-35 is a single-seat, multirole fighter designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. Rosoboronexport lists a maximum takeoff weight of 34,500 kilograms, a maximum payload of 8,000 kilograms and 12 hardpoints. Those specifications describe the airframe’s potential, but Ethiopia’s usable capability will depend on the configuration purchased and the support system built around it.

A two-aircraft delivery can begin familiarization and conversion work, but sustained operations require trained pilots, maintenance personnel, spares, ground-support equipment and a reliable inspection cycle. None of those supporting arrangements has been publicly detailed. The absence of disclosed basing information also leaves unanswered where Ethiopia plans to establish the maintenance and operating infrastructure for the fleet.

The one-year acceleration may give the air force more time to start that process before the other 10 aircraft arrive. It does not reveal whether subsequent deliveries were also advanced, or when Ethiopia expects all 12 fighters to be available. Fleet size and fleet readiness are separate measures: aircraft can be delivered before the personnel, maintenance capacity and logistics chain needed for routine operations are fully established.

The S-400 order remains a future step

The four announced S-400 batteries would represent a separate layer of the acquisition. Fighters are mobile aircraft that require recurring flight and maintenance support; a ground-based air-defense system brings its own training, sensor, command, communications and sustainment demands. Ethiopia has not disclosed a delivery date, deployment locations or how the batteries would be incorporated into its existing air-defense structure.

That makes the current status relatively narrow: two Su-35s are confirmed in Ethiopian hands, 10 more are planned, and four S-400 batteries are expected later. Public statements have not established when the larger force will be assembled or what missions will be assigned to either system.

Tigray fighting sharpens the unanswered question

The delivery comes as fighting has resumed in northern Ethiopia. A rebel alliance launched an offensive against the government last month, reviving a conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people between 2020 and 2022. Foreign-made drones played an important role in Ethiopia’s air campaign during that earlier war.

Neither Abiy nor Rosoboronexport has said whether the Su-35s will be assigned any role in the renewed fighting. That unanswered point carries immediate weight because the aircraft arrived during an active conflict rather than during a quiet procurement cycle. The United Nations has warned that hostilities in Tigray, Afar and Amhara risk wider regional destabilization and has called for de-escalation.

Relations with neighboring Eritrea have also deteriorated. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of supporting the rebels, an allegation Eritrea denies, and the two countries have severed ties. Those conditions give the early delivery political and operational significance, but the confirmed facts stop at possession: Ethiopia now has two Su-35s, while their basing, readiness and intended missions remain undisclosed.

The next concrete milestones will be the arrival of the remaining 10 fighters and the first S-400 batteries. Until then, Ethiopia’s planned 12-aircraft force is best understood as a procurement in progress one that has started early amid renewed war, without a public account of how its newest aircraft will be used.

By David Whitaker — Associate editor for AMI’s aerospace and drone systems desk, translating flight systems, aircraft programs, spaceflight, and UAV developments into accessible technical stories.